A heavy fighter is a historic category of fighter aircraft produced in the 1930s and 1940s, designed to carry heavier weapons or operate at longer ranges than light fighter aircraft. To achieve performance, most heavy fighters were twin-engine, and many had multi-place crews; this was in contrast to light fighters, which were typically single-engine and single-crew aircraft. In Germany, these larger fighters were known as Zerstörer ("destroyers").
195-779: Operation Argument , after the war dubbed Big Week , was a sequence of raids by the United States Army Air Forces and RAF Bomber Command from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive against Nazi Germany . The objective of Operation Argument was to destroy aircraft factories in central and southern Germany in order to defeat the Luftwaffe before the Normandy landings during Operation Overlord were to take place later in 1944. The joint daylight bombing campaign
390-587: A Yak-11 kill. The Twin Mustang was increasingly out-classed by jet aircraft, and was eventually replaced in Korea by Republic F-84 Thunderjets and North American F-86 Sabres . The F-82 would end its life as the last operational American piston-engined interceptor. Primarily stationed in Alaska out of Adak Island (and later out of Ladd Air Force Base ) as part of the 449th Fighter (All-Weather) Squadron (F(AW)S),
585-506: A bomber destroyer , and was comparable to early models of the German Messerschmitt Bf 110. The G.I was formidably armed relative even to other early heavy fighters; with twin 23 mm (.91 in) Madsen cannons, and a pair of 7.9 mm (.31 in) Madsen machine guns (later up-armed to eight machine guns) in the nose. For defensive purposes, a single Madsen 7.9 mm machine gun was mounted in a rear-facing turret, manned by
780-933: A segregated basis. A flight training center was set up at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama . Despite the handicap—caused by the segregation policy—of not having an experienced training cadre as with other AAF units, the Tuskegee Airmen distinguished themselves in combat with the 332nd Fighter Group . The Tuskegee training program produced 673 black fighter pilots, 253 B-26 Marauder pilots, and 132 navigators. The vast majority of African-American airmen, however, did not fare as well. Mainly draftees , most did not fly or maintain aircraft. Their largely menial duties, indifferent or hostile leadership, and poor morale led to serious dissatisfaction and several violent incidents. Women served more successfully as part of
975-585: A "disturbing failure to follow through on orders". To streamline the AAF in preparation for war, with a goal of centralized planning and decentralized execution of operations, in October 1941 Arnold submitted to the WDGS essentially the same reorganization plan it had rejected a year before, this time crafted by Chief of Air Staff Brig. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz . When this plan was not given any consideration, Arnold reworded
1170-476: A Chief of Air Staff and three deputies. This wartime structure remained essentially unchanged for the remainder of hostilities. In October 1944 Arnold, to begin a process of reorganization for reducing the structure, proposed to eliminate the AC/AS, Training and move his office into OC&R, changing it to Operations, Training and Requirements (OT&R) but the mergers were never effected. On 23 August 1945, after
1365-532: A German mechanized column near Tongeren . Six to eight were shot down by German flak, two more 693s were lost while attempting to return to base, and of those that made it home safely, one was written off (most of the twenty four crewmen survived or were captured alive, although three died during the attack and some of the survivors were badly wounded). As the fighting drew to a close the French attempted to fly as many 693s as possible to North Africa, but only three made
1560-538: A Zone of Interior "training and supply agency", but from the start AAF officers viewed this as a "paper" restriction negated by Arnold's place on both the Joint and Combined Chiefs, which gave him strategic planning authority for the AAF, a viewpoint that was formally sanctioned by the War Department in mid-1943 and endorsed by the president. The Circular No. 59 reorganization directed the AAF to operate under
1755-566: A blueprint. After war began, Congress enacted the First War Powers Act on 18 December 1941 endowing President Franklin D. Roosevelt with virtual carte blanche to reorganize the executive branch as he found necessary. Under it, on 28 February 1942, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9082 , based on Marshall's recommendation and the work of McNarney's committee. The EO changed Arnold's title to Commanding General, Army Air Forces effective 9 March 1942, making him co-equal with
1950-470: A change of mood at the War Department, and of dubious legality. By November 1941, on the eve of U.S. entry into the war, the division of authority within the Army as a whole, caused by the activation of Army GHQ a year before, had led to a "battle of memos" between it and the WDGS over administering the AAF, prompting Marshall to state that he had "the poorest command post in the Army" when defense commands showed
2145-521: A commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff . The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed among the Air Corps, General Headquarters Air Force, and the ground forces' corps area commanders and thus became the first air organization of the U.S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel. The peak size of the AAF during World War II
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#17327722774632340-457: A complex division of administrative control performed by a policy staff, an operating staff, and the support commands (formerly "field activities" of the OCAC). The former field activities operated under a "bureau" structure, with both policy and operating functions vested in staff-type officers who often exercised command and policy authority without responsibility for results, a system held over from
2535-609: A controversial move, the AAF Technical Training Command began leasing resort hotels and apartment buildings for large-scale training sites (accommodation for 90,000 existed in Miami Beach alone). The leases were negotiated for the AAF by the Corps of Engineers, often to the economic detriment of hotel owners in rental rates, wear and tear clauses, and short-notice to terminate leases. In December 1943,
2730-755: A costly mistake. In practice the Bf 110 was capable of using this combination of features for only a short time, until the late summer of 1940. It served well against the Hawker Hurricane during the Battle of France , but was easily outperformed by – and up to 50 km/h (31 mph) slower in top speed than – the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. Eventually Bf 110s were converted to interceptors , and were particularly successful in
2925-408: A crew of ten men, sometimes with an extra navigator. Each bombardment group usually consisted of three squadrons with a total of 36 bombers. The Americans flew continuously escorted missions against airframe manufacturing and assembly plants and other targets in numerous German cities including: Leipzig , Brunswick , Gotha , Regensburg, Schweinfurt, Augsburg , Stuttgart and Steyr . In six days,
3120-731: A defense reorganization in the post-war period resulted in the passage by the United States Congress of the National Security Act of 1947 with the creation of an independent United States Air Force in September 1947. In its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service. By regulation and executive order, it
3315-429: A deleterious effect on operational training and threatened to overwhelm the capacity of the old Air Corps groups to provide experienced cadres or to absorb graduates of the expanded training program to replace those transferred. Since 1939 the overall level of experience among the combat groups had fallen to such an extent that when the demand for replacements in combat was factored in, the entire operational training system
3510-418: A fast light bomber. Although not always contemporaneously referred to explicitly as “heavy fighters,” nearly every single combatant of WWII fielded or experimented with twin-engine multi-role combat aircraft . The Fokker G.I was a private venture design by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in 1936. The G.I was designed to serve on the heavier end of the spectrum of heavy fighters, as a jachtkruiser or
3705-585: A further 29 damaged. Escort for Mission 228 is provided by 69 P-38s, 542 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 68 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the P-38s claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair; the P-47s claim 19-3-14 Luftwaffe aircraft, two P-47s are lost, two are damaged beyond repair, three are damaged and two pilots are MIA; the P-51s claim 14-1-4 Luftwaffe aircraft, three P-51s are lost and
3900-720: A general autonomy within the War Department (similar to that of the Marine Corps within the Department of the Navy ) until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a strong proponent of airpower, understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war. Soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, in recognition of importance of
4095-571: A good job at protecting bombers and destroying German fighters; the Germans responded by pulling almost all of their fighter forces back into Germany itself, to attack US bombers where US fighters could not support the bombers due to lack of range. The Americans concluded they needed long range escort fighters and examined all aircraft they had that could fit the role. As early as July 1943 the North American P-51 Mustang appeared
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#17327722774634290-681: A long-ranged fighter. Prior to the war, it was considered by the German Luftwaffe more important than their single-engine fighters. Many of the best pilots were assigned to Bf 110 wings , specifically designated as Zerstörergeschwader ("destroyer squadron", Zerstörer being the same word as used for naval destroyers ) wings. While lighter fighters were intended for defense, the destroyers were intended for offensive missions: to escort bombers on missions at long range, then use its superior speed to outrun defending fighters that would be capable of outmaneuvering it. This doctrine proved to be
4485-698: A major reorganization and consolidation on 29 March 1943. The four main directorates and seventeen subordinate directorates (the "operating staff") were abolished as an unnecessary level of authority, and execution of policies was removed from the staffs to be assigned solely to field organizations along functional lines. The policy functions of the directorates were reorganized and consolidated into offices regrouped along conventional military lines under six assistant chiefs of air staff (AC/AS): Personnel; Intelligence; Operations, Commitments, and Requirements (OC&R); Materiel, Maintenance, and Distribution (MM&D); Plans; and Training. Command of Headquarters AAF resided in
4680-505: A multiplicity of branches and organizations, reduced the WDGS greatly in size, and proportionally increased the representation of the air forces members on it to 50%. In addition to dissolving both Army General Headquarters and the chiefs of the combat arms , and assigning their training functions to the Army Ground Forces, War Department Circular 59 reorganized the Army Air Forces, disbanding both Air Force Combat Command and
4875-523: A perception of resistance and even obstruction then by the bureaucracy in the War Department General Staff (WDGS), much of which was attributable to lack of funds, the Air Corps later made great strides in the 1930s, both organizationally and in doctrine. A strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. A major step toward
5070-471: A proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Arnold's proposal was immediately opposed by the General Staff in all respects, rehashing its traditional doctrinal argument that, in the event of war, the Air Corps would have no mission independent of support of the ground forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that
5265-515: A rearward-facing machine gun for defensive purposes. This was relatively very heavy armament for a fighter in 1934, with most contemporary aircraft mounting one or two light machine guns. In response, French aircraft manufacturer Potez developed the Potez 63 series . The basic design was close to the original specification; that of either a 2 or 3 seat, dual-engine heavy fighter, armed with two 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons in gondolas under
5460-669: A requirement for a fighter with 40mm cannon, got no further than the prototype. Due to the different requirements for naval fighter aircraft, the British put into service some heavyweight single-engine fighters such as the Fairey Firefly . The US military never officially designated an aircraft as a "heavy fighter," but from the 1930s through to the immediate post-WWII period there were a slew of American designs that were twin-engined, relatively heavy in weight, and designed in line with other nations’ heavy fighter philosophy. During
5655-589: A separate air force came in March 1935, when the command of all combat air units within the Continental United States (CONUS) was centralized under a single organization called the "General Headquarters Air Force" . Since 1920, control of aviation units had resided with commanders of the corps areas (a peacetime ground forces administrative echelon), following the model established by commanding General John J. Pershing during World War I. In 1924,
5850-564: A single mockup. Another bomber destroyer was the Beechcraft Model 28, also bearing a 75 mm cannon, with twin turrets mounting .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 heavy machine guns for defence. The design was re-designated the XA-38 Grizzly and was repurposed as a ground attack aircraft intended to be able to defeat enemy tanks and ground fortifications with its heavy cannon. However, for reasons including need of
6045-473: A standard of combat proficiency had barely surpassed the total originally authorized by the first expansion program in 1940. The extant training establishment, in essence a "self-training" system, was inadequate in assets, organization, and pedagogy to train units wholesale. Individual training of freshly minted pilots occupied an inordinate amount of the available time to the detriment of unit proficiency. The ever-increasing numbers of new groups being formed had
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6240-428: A structure for the additional command echelons required by a vastly increased force, and to end an increasingly divisive administrative battle within the Army over control of aviation doctrine and organization that had been ongoing since the creation of an aviation section within the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1914. The AAF succeeded both the Air Corps, which had been the statutory military aviation branch since 1926 and
6435-458: A temporary, nonstandard, headquarters in August 1944. This provisional fighter wing was set up to separate control of its P-38 groups from its P-51 groups. This headquarters was referred to as "XV Fighter Command (Provisional)". Eight air divisions served as an additional layer of command and control for the vast organization, capable of acting independently if the need arose. Inclusive within
6630-643: A torpedo. Although Grumman designed and developed the aircraft during World War II, it entered service too late to see action before VJ Day . It served in the Korean War and retired in 1954. During the interwar period the USSR set about developing heavily armed twin-engine fighters to function in the heavy-fighter role, particularly as interceptors and bomber destroyers. Uniquely, the Soviets experimented with recoilless rifles as primary armament, but abandoned
6825-512: A twin-engine dedicated zerstörer (eschewing the usual German wartime practice of assigning multiple roles to heavy fighters), designed with a relatively unique push-pull configuration , which placed its fuselage-mounted twin DB 603 engines' propellers on opposing ends of the fuselage, and potentially allowed much better maneuverability, while essentially using the same engines as the conventional-layout twin-engine Me 410. The centre-line thrust design of
7020-462: A whole. This would then allow Allied air superiority over the Luftwaffe to be achieved, which was considered absolutely critical in advance of the upcoming invasion of Northern France . Brinkhuis (1984) contended that the operation's target was attacking Germany's aircraft industry, 'going back to a plan that had already been made in October 1943. This plan, operation Argument , was the biggest Allied air action so far. The ambitious enterprise had
7215-546: A winterized variant, known as the F-82H was developed specifically for this task. The winterized Twin Mustang would perform long-range aerial patrols over the extremes of American airspace around Alaska, with the area being viewed as a possible ‘back door’ for Soviet strategic bombers. The F-82H was slowly supplemented by the Lockheed F-94 Starfire all-weather interceptor , and by 1953, it had completely replaced
7410-861: Is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force , today one of the six armed forces of the United States . The AAF was a component of the United States Army , which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces , the United States Army Services of Supply (which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces ), and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had
7605-471: The Air Transport Command made deliveries of almost 270,000 aircraft worldwide while losing only 1,013 in the process. The operation of the stateside depots was done largely by more than 300,000 civilian maintenance employees, many of them women, freeing a like number of Air Forces mechanics for overseas duty. In all facets of the service, more than 420,000 civilian personnel were employed by
7800-456: The Army Service Forces , but the AAF increasingly exerted influence on the curricula of these courses in anticipation of future independence. African-Americans comprised approximately six per cent of this force (145,242 personnel in June 1944). In 1940, pressured by Eleanor Roosevelt and some Northern members of Congress , General Arnold agreed to accept blacks for pilot training, albeit on
7995-574: The Battle of Britain . An exception was the American Lockheed P-38 Lightning , which proved an effective heavy fighter; even against smaller, lighter, single-engine aircraft and particularly in the Pacific theater . Many twin-engine heavy fighters found their niche as night fighters , especially in the bomber-destroyer role; or as fighter-bombers , roughly analogous to modern strike fighters . Among such conversions
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8190-1395: The Eighth Air Force bombers based in England flew more than 3,000 sorties and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy more than 500. Together they dropped roughly 10,000 tons of bombs. Big Week opened with the RAF night attack on Leipzig. Apart from the destruction caused, the German anti-aircraft defenses would still be suffering from fatigue the following day when the USAAF hit. Missions one and three above are escorted by 94 P-38 Lightnings, 668 Eighth and Ninth Air Force Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and 73 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs; they claim 61-7-37 Luftwaffe aircraft; one Lockheed P-38 Lightning , two P-47 Thunderbolts and one P-51 Mustangs are lost, two P-47 Thunderbolts are damaged beyond repair and 4 other aircraft are damaged; casualties are 4 MIA. German losses amount to 10 Messerschmitt Bf 110s destroyed and three damaged with 10 killed and seven wounded. Total losses included 74 Bf 110s, Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and Messerschmitt Bf 109s and
8385-863: The Gothaer Waggonfabrik , was a disaster in terms of barely damaging any targets of military importance while killing hundreds of civilians of the Netherlands (approximately 880 civilian deaths in Nijmegen), whose government-in-exile in London was part of the Allied coalition . On the day after the raid, 23 February, the Allied air force launched an investigation: all air raids planned for that day were canceled (also due to poor weather conditions), and all flyers and briefing officers involved were held on
8580-559: The Heinkel He 177 Greif heavy bomber . Twelve airframes, designated " He 177 A-1/U2", carried twin 30 mm MK 101 cannon in an enlarged ventral gondola and was intended for ground attack, train busting, and possibly long-range anti-shipping raids. They also were intended for use in a bomber destroyer role, intercepting Allied long-range bombers and maritime patrol aircraft threatening the Kriegsmarine ' s submarines. In
8775-584: The Luftwaffe 160 aircraft. The Allies, again, replaced their losses; the Luftwaffe , again, could not. The new German tactics of using Sturmböcke (heavily armed Fw 190s) as bomber destroyers and Bf 109Gs to escort them in Gefechtsverband formations, were proving somewhat effective. The US fighters, kept in close contact with the bombers they were protecting, could not chase the attacking fighters before they were forced to turn around and return to
8970-422: The Luftwaffe after the German invasion of the Netherlands. Before the war the British sought both twin-engined fighters with turret-mounted and nose-mounted (cannon) armament. The former because it was expected to give greater opportunity for attack at higher speeds compared to the biplane era; the latter because of loss of accuracy expected with heavy weapons installed in wings. One example of an aircraft to meet
9165-640: The Luftwaffe could not ignore. In addition, the mission of the Allied fighters was altered in emphasis – rather than protection of the bombers, it was attack the Luftwaffe fighters. In effect, the primary purpose of the bombing missions was to bring up the Luftwaffe and the real role of the Allied bombers was to be used and sacrificed as bait. Van Esch (2012) stated: 'However, also to the surprise of Allied analysts, German aircraft industries were still able to increase production of fighter aircraft, even after three years of strategic bombing. In this war of attrition,
9360-462: The Luftwaffe on Dutch airfields, and overwhelming German air superiority, the G.I suffered heavy losses. At the conclusion of hostilities , several G.Is were captured by the Germans, and utilized as heavy-fighter trainers for Bf 110 crews at Wiener Neustadt . For the next two years, Flugzeugführerschule (B) 8 flew the G.I until attrition grounded the fleet. On 5 May 1941, a Fokker test pilot, Hidde Leegstra, accompanied by engineer (and member of
9555-567: The Quartermaster Corps and then by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , because of a lack of familiarity with Air Corps requirements. The outbreak of war in Europe and the resulting need for a wide variety of facilities for both operations and training within the Continental United States necessitated comprehensive changes of policy, first in September 1941 by giving the responsibility for acquisition and development of bases directly to
9750-615: The United States Air Force , James Robinson Risner and Charles E. Yeager . Air crew needs resulted in the successful training of 43,000 bombardiers , 49,000 navigators , and 309,000 flexible gunners, many of whom also specialized in other aspects of air crew duties. 7,800 men qualified as B-29 flight engineers and 1,000 more as radar operators in night fighters , all of whom received commissions. Almost 1.4 million men received technical training as aircraft mechanics, electronics specialists, and other technicians. Non-aircraft related support services were provided by airmen trained by
9945-478: The "Five-day War", the available G.I fighters were mainly deployed in ground attack missions, strafing advancing German infantry units, but were also used to attack Junkers Ju 52 transports . Although reports are fragmentary and inaccurate as to the results, G.I fighters were employed over Rotterdam and the Hague, contributing to the loss of 167 Ju 52s, scoring up to 14 confirmed aerial kills. With relentless attacks by
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#173277227746310140-537: The AAF created a reserve pool that held qualified pilot candidates until they could be called to active duty, rather than losing them in the draft. By 1944, this pool became surplus, and 24,000 were sent to the Army Ground Forces for retraining as infantry , and 6,000 to the Army Service Forces . Pilot standards were changed to reduce the minimum age from 20 to 18, and eliminated the educational requirement of at least two years of college. Two fighter pilot beneficiaries of this change went on to become brigadier generals in
10335-502: The AAF for the first time in its history, and then in April 1942 by delegation of the enormous task by Headquarters AAF to its user field commands and numbered air forces. In addition to the construction of new permanent bases and the building of numerous bombing and gunnery ranges, the AAF utilized civilian pilot schools, training courses conducted at college and factory sites, and officer training detachments at colleges. In early 1942, in
10530-416: The AAF reached a war-time peak of 783 airfields in the Continental United States. At the end of the war, the AAF was using almost 20 million acres of land, an area as large as Massachusetts , Connecticut , Vermont , and New Hampshire combined. By the end of World War II, the USAAF had created 16 numbered air forces ( First through Fifteenth and Twentieth ) distributed worldwide to prosecute
10725-590: The AAF. The huge increases in aircraft inventory resulted in a similar increase in personnel, expanding sixteen-fold in less than three years following its formation, and changed the personnel policies under which the Air Service and Air Corps had operated since the National Defense Act of 1920. No longer could pilots represent 90% of commissioned officers. The need for large numbers of specialists in administration and technical services resulted in
10920-529: The Air Corps expanded from 15 to 30 groups by the end of the year. On 7 December 1941 the number of activated combat groups had reached 67, with 49 still within the Continental United States. Of the CONUS groups (the "strategic reserve"), 21 were engaged in operational training or still being organized and were unsuitable for deployment. Of the 67 combat groups, 26 were classified as bombardment: 13 Heavy Bomb groups ( B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator ), and
11115-557: The Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting "Deputy Chief of Staff for Air" but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four geographical air defense districts on 19 October 1940
11310-480: The Air Corps in October 1940 saw fifteen new general officer billets created. By the end of World War II, 320 generals were authorized for service within the wartime AAF. The Air Corps operated 156 installations at the beginning of 1941. An airbase expansion program had been underway since 1939, attempting to keep pace with the increase in personnel, units, and aircraft, using existing municipal and private facilities where possible, but it had been mismanaged, first by
11505-435: The Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. Airpower advocates achieved a centralized control of air units under an air commander, while the WDGS divided authority within the air arm and assured a continuing policy of support of ground operations as its primary role. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a strike force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic , Pacific, and Gulf coasts but
11700-475: The Air Corps still had only 800 first-line combat aircraft and 76 bases, including 21 major installations and depots. American fighter aircraft were inferior to the British Spitfire and Hurricane , and German Messerschmitt Bf 110 and 109 . Ralph Ingersoll wrote in late 1940 after visiting Britain that the "best American fighter planes already delivered to the British are used by them either as advanced trainers—or for fighting equally obsolete Italian planes in
11895-443: The Air Corps years. The concept of an "operating staff", or directorates, was modeled on the RAF system that had been much admired by the observer groups sent over in 1941, and resulted from a desire to place experts in various aspects of military aviation into key positions of implementation. However functions often overlapped, communication and coordination between the divisions failed or was ignored, policy prerogatives were usurped by
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#173277227746312090-458: The Air Corps". A lawyer and a banker, Lovett had prior experience with the aviation industry that translated into realistic production goals and harmony in integrating the plans of the AAF with those of the Army as a whole. Lovett initially believed that President Roosevelt's demand following the attack on Pearl Harbor for 60,000 airplanes in 1942 and 125,000 in 1943 was grossly ambitious. However, working closely with General Arnold and engaging
12285-444: The Air Corps, while 82 per cent of enlisted members assigned to AAF units and bases had the Air Corps as their combat arm branch. While officially the air arm was the Army Air Forces , the term Air Corps persisted colloquially among the public as well as veteran airmen; in addition, the singular Air Force often crept into popular and even official use, reflected by the designation Air Force Combat Command in 1941–42. This misnomer
12480-418: The Airacuda was plagued with design flaws; only 13 prototypes were built, none of which participated in World War II. The US would enter WWII with one of the most effective heavy fighters in history, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning . It was designed as a twin-engine bomber interceptor to climb quickly and carry heavy armament at high speed, with the lighter Bell P-39 Airacobra meeting the single-engine version of
12675-425: The Allied strategy from the perspective of the Casablanca directive of 21 January 1943, according to which the Allied bombers' "Primary object will be the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial, and economic system, and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened" with "The German aircraft industry" being
12870-467: The Allies to achieve air superiority, which would make subsequent bombing raids less risky and chaotic, and more effective. The tragic failures of the 22 February bombings of Dutch cities no one had ever heard of, which had resulted in almost a thousand civilian casualties and major infrastructural damage, were initially brushed off as an 'incident', and Operation Argument would be glorified as 'Big Week' in Allied historiography. Otherwise, Big Week bolstered
13065-417: The Army Chief of Staff. This "contrast between theory and fact is...fundamental to an understanding of the AAF." The roots of the Army Air Forces arose in the formulation of theories of strategic bombing at the Air Corps Tactical School that gave new impetus to arguments for an independent air force, beginning with those espoused by Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial . Despite
13260-417: The Army General Headquarters had the power to detach units from AFCC at will by creating task forces, the WDGS still controlled the AAF budget and finances, and the AAF had no jurisdiction over units of the Army Service Forces providing "housekeeping services" as support nor of air units, bases, and personnel located outside the continental United States. Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy
13455-402: The Beaufighter was potent in the anti-ship and ground attack role in the Pacific and Europe. With the addition of radar , it was one of the Royal Air Force 's main night fighters. Similarly, the successful de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber was simultaneously adapted for both day and night fighter use. A parallel single-seat twin Merlin engine fighter the de Havilland Hornet entered service in
13650-519: The Bf 110, but also could not outrun contemporary single-engine fighters, with the Me 210 having serious aerodynamic problems from mistakes in the design of its wing planform and the initial design of its rear fuselage. Aside from the Bf 110 and Me 210/410, the Luftwaffe also utilized various light bombers , medium bombers , and Schnellbombers (German; literally "fast bomber") in the heavy fighter role. Due to their relatively large size, these were mostly used as night fighter-bomber destroyers, as there
13845-428: The Do 335, the first-ever front-line combat fighter to use it, did allow dramatically higher speeds (just over 750 km/h or 465 mph) than many other twin-piston-engine aircraft of its era, but was never produced in quantity. Following the example set by the Bf 110, the Japanese built the broadly similar Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu . Likewise neutral Netherlands built the twin-boom Fokker G.I, only to be seized by
14040-557: The F-4 and F-5 variants of which over 1,200 were built), night fighter (as the radar -equipped P-38M variant), and as a fighter-bomber . In the escort fighter role, the P-38 accompanied Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress raids deep into German-held Europe. The P-38 and the much lighter North American P-51 Mustang were the first two American fighters over Berlin in March 1944. The only other American heavy fighter to serve in great numbers during WWII
14235-515: The Fokker Board of Directors) Dr. Piet Vos, managed to fly a G.I to England from the occupied Netherlands . After landing in England, the G.I was conscripted by Phillips and Powis Aircraft . The company had designed an all-wooden fighter-bomber, and was interested in the G.I wing structure and its resistance to the rigours of a British climate. Despite being left outdoors for the remainder of
14430-461: The French coast. Allied airmen were well on the way to achieving air superiority over all of Europe. Russell (1999) stated: "While they continued strategic bombing, the USAAF turned its attention to the tactical air battle in support of the Normandy invasion ". According to Kenneth P. Werell (1986), the battle for air superiority was very costly for both sides, but by 1 April 1944, the Allies had gained
14625-653: The French government, or via use of captured aircraft. In French service the series saw action during the Battle of France , and post- armistice within both the Vichy French Armée de l'air de l'Armistice , and the Free French Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres . On 20 May 1940, the light bomber variant, the Potez 633, took part in a ground attack against German troops near Arras . Three 633s took part in
14820-658: The GHQ Air Force, which had been activated in 1935 to quiet the demands of airmen for an independent Air Force similar to the Royal Air Force which had already been established in the United Kingdom . Although other nations already had separate air forces independent of their army or navy (such as the Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe ), the AAF remained a part of the Army until
15015-557: The General Staff planned for a wartime activation of an Army general headquarters (GHQ), similar to the American Expeditionary Forces model of World War I , with a GHQ Air Force as a subordinate component. Both were created in 1933 when a small conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup d'état but was not activated. The activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that
15210-584: The German night bombing raids of Moscow in 1941, the People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union (NKO) sought to rapidly correct this deficiency. In order to create a fighter that would fill the needed specifications quickly, it was determined that it would utilize a pre-existing airframe. The NKO selected the Petlyakov Pe-2 – a twin-engined light bomber – to be modified, and within 4 days
15405-620: The Grushin Gr-1, Mikoyan-Gurevich DIS , Polikarpov TIS , and the Tairov Ta-3 ; were proposed, but never moved beyond test stages. Like other military types, piston-engine heavy fighters such as the de Havilland Hornet and Sea Hornet , as well as the North American F-82 Twin Mustang continued in service in the years immediately after the war. All were developed at the end of World War II for use in
15600-513: The Low Countries in May 1940, Roosevelt asked Congress for a supplemental appropriation of nearly a billion dollars, a production program of 50,000 aircraft a year, and a military air force of 50,000 aircraft (of which 36,500 would be Army). Accelerated programs followed in the Air Corps that repeatedly revised expansion goals, resulting in plans for 84 combat groups, 7,799 combat aircraft, and
15795-527: The Middle East. That is all they are good for." RAF crews he interviewed said that by spring 1941 a fighter engaging Germans had to have the capability to reach 400 mph in speed, fight at 30,000–35,000 feet, be simple to take off, provide armor for the pilot, and carry 12 machine guns or six cannons, all attributes lacking in American aircraft. Following the successful German invasion of France and
15990-543: The Office of Chief of the Air Corps (OCAC), eliminating all its training and organizational functions, which removed an entire layer of authority. Taking their former functions were eleven numbered air forces (later raised to sixteen) and six support commands (which became eight in January 1943). The circular also restated the mission of the AAF, in theory removing from it responsibility for strategic planning and making it only
16185-400: The P-38s claim 1 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair and 6 are damaged; the P-47s claim 39-6-15 Luftwaffe aircraft, 8 P-47s are lost and 12 damaged, 8 pilots are MIA; the P-51s claim 19-1-10 Luftwaffe aircraft, 3 P-51s are lost and 3 damaged, 3 pilots are MIA. Escort is provided by 73 P-38s, 687 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 139 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s;
16380-466: The P-38s claim 1-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair; the P-47s claim 13-2-10 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-47 is lost and 6 damaged, 1 pilot is MIA; the P-51s claim 12-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft, 2 P-51s are lost and 1 damaged beyond repair, 2 pilots are MIA. Mission 236: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 250 bundles of leaflets on Grenoble, Toulouse, Chartres, Caen and Raismes, France at 2129–2335 hours without loss. RAF Bomber Command directly contributed to
16575-664: The Pacific theatre, though none reached operational squadrons until after VJ day, the Hornet in 1946, the Sea Hornet in 1947 and the Twin Mustang in 1948. 4th-generation and 5th-generation air superiority fighters are designed to wrest air superiority from the enemy in hostile territory, and thus usually have greater range than tactical fighters or interceptors. They therefore typically have two engines, and often carry
16770-668: The Petlyakov Design Bureau switched production over to a Pe-3bis with further minor modifications; no name or designation change was made. A reconnaissance variant, with an onboard camera system and greater range was also produced in small numbers; This variant was often referred to as either the Pe-3R or Pe-3F. The Pe-3 and Pe-3bis would serve as the only widely fielded heavy fighter of the Soviet Air Forces during WWII . Other heavy fighter designs; such as
16965-660: The Potez 631 was the Flottille F1C of the French Naval Air Arm . Between 10 and 21 May 1940, aircraft of the flottille shot down 12 enemy aircraft in exchange for 8 of their own losses prior to its withdrawal from active combat. The reconnaissance variants, the Potez 637 and 63.11, equipped numerous Groupes de Reconnaissance of the French Air Force, with more than 700 reconnaissance Potez 63.11s having been delivered. The Potez 63.11 suffered
17160-544: The RAF's first night fighters. More successful was the Bristol Beaufighter , started in 1938 as an interim aircraft to cover for delays in introduction of a cannon-armed fighter (the Westland Whirlwind). The Beaufighter design reused major portions of the earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber . Armed with six .303 inch (7.7 mm) machine guns, four 20 mm cannon and rockets, bombs or torpedoes,
17355-442: The Twin Mustang. Apart from the P-38 and P-61, other mid-WWII projects included the proposed Curtis XP-71 . It was an exceptionally large heavy fighter, intended to serve as a long-range escort fighter and bomber destroyer. Its design was based around a 75 mm cannon capable of destroying large heavy bombers with one hit, but interest in the project waned and the 83 ft (25 m)- wingspan aircraft did not progress beyond
17550-612: The US losses were replaceable, while the Germans were already hard pressed due to the war in the East. Although not fatal, Big Week was an extremely worrying development for the Germans. The lack of skilled pilots due to an attrition in the three-front war was the factor eroding the capability of the Jagdwaffe . According to McFarland & Newton (1991), the purported Allied strategy of sacrificing bombers in order to lure and kill Luftwaffe fighters
17745-406: The USAAF and RAF were repeatedly interrupted by 500 German fighters or more. Allied intelligence also indicated that the German aircraft industry was capable of producing about 2,000–3,000 planes per month, so the need to diminish the enemy's manufacturing potential soon was evident. Therefore, massive Allied air raids on German industrial areas had been conducted throughout 1943, but to little effect;
17940-637: The USAAF bombers. Though the change was unpopular with the bomber crews, its effects were immediate and extremely effective. The Combined Bomber Offensive attacks against fighter production officially ended on 1 April 1944, and control of the air forces passed to US General Dwight D. Eisenhower in preparation for the invasion of France. The combined heavy bomber forces were now used in the Transport Plan destroying railway supply lines to and within France to reduce German capacity to respond to invasion on
18135-686: The USAAF to compete for the contract ; the Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk and the Northrop XP-89 Scorpion . While the XP-89 would eventually emerge as the winner, due to multiple issues with both competing aircraft, the first Scorpions would not reach operational Air Defense Command interceptor units until 1951. With no other night interceptors to call on from 1945 to 1951, the P-61 Black Widow
18330-472: The United States. The Twin Mustang, while appearing to be simply a ‘ twinned ’ P-51 Mustang, actually only shared less than 20% commonality of parts with the original Mustang. Initially intended as a long-range escort fighter for Boeing B-29 Superfortress strategic bombers attacking the Japanese home islands , it would become operational only after the Japanese surrender . Originally designed in 1943, it
18525-545: The WAACs and WACs as AAF personnel, more than 1,000 as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), and 6,500 as nurses in the Army Air Forces, including 500 flight nurses. 7,601 "Air WACs" served overseas in April 1945, and women performed in more than 200 job categories. The Air Corps Act of July 1926 increased the number of general officers authorized in the Army's air arm from two to four. The activation of GHQAF in March 1935 doubled that number to eight and pre-war expansion of
18720-430: The air forces and to avoid binding legislation from Congress, the War Department revised the army regulation governing the organization of Army aviation, AR 95–5. Arnold assumed the title of Chief of the Army Air Forces , creating an echelon of command over all military aviation components for the first time and ending the dual status of the Air Corps and GHQ Air Force, which was renamed Air Force Combat Command (AFCC) in
18915-473: The air forces, commands and divisions were administrative headquarters called wings to control groups (operational units; see section below). As the number of groups increased, the number of wings needed to control them multiplied, with 91 ultimately activated, 69 of which were still active at the end of the war. As part of the Air Service and Air Corps, wings had been composite organizations, that is, composed of groups with different types of missions. Most of
19110-422: The aircraft's forward-facing armament at night temporarily blinded the pilots, crews complained about a lack of frontal armor, and heavier armament in general was requested. Ground crews would rectify two of these issues on their own; flash-hiders were installed on the forward armament, and RS-82 and RS-132 rocket launchers were sometimes mounted for ground-attack missions, while a DAG-10 aerial grenade launcher
19305-481: The annual addition to the force of 30,000 new pilots and 100,000 technical personnel. The accelerated expansion programs resulted in a force of 156 airfields and 152,125 personnel at the time of the creation of the Army Air Forces. In its expansion during World War II, the AAF became the world's most powerful air force. From the Air Corps of 1939, with 20,000 men and 2,400 planes, to the nearly autonomous AAF of 1944, with almost 2.4 million personnel and 80,000 aircraft,
19500-479: The attack. This was the type's only operational mission over France as two days later the 633 was withdrawn from front-line service. The day/night fighter variant, the Potez 631, had quickly proved to be an ineffectual interceptor; it was slower than some German bomber aircraft and 130 km/h (81 mph) slower than the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-variant fighter. Perhaps the most successful unit operating
19695-469: The attacks on the aircraft industry in Schweinfurt. Some 734 bombers were dispatched on the night of 24/25 February, and 695 reported they struck the target. However, analysis of the photographs taken during the raid showed that only 298 of the aircraft dropped their bombs within three miles of the aiming point. Of these, only 22 hit inside the target area; that is, they came down within the boundaries of
19890-432: The base and questioned. In London, a diplomatic incident occurred between the American, British and Dutch military and civilian commanders and officials about what had happened, who should be granted access to which information, and in which order, and who should ultimately be held responsible, creating distrust within the Allied leadership for some time. The American military command was relatively late in drawing lessons from
20085-625: The belief that " The bomber will always get through ", Britain lagged behind in heavy fighter development. Apart from the Westland Whirlwind and the high-altitude Welkin , both built only in modest numbers (the former due to lack of engines, the latter due to changed requirement), the Royal Air Force 's wartime twin-engined fighters were all adapted from contemporary bombers . During the Battle of Britain, Bristol Blenheim bombers were fitted, as an interim measure and in utmost secrecy, with radars and ventral gun packs, turning them into
20280-587: The bombers. General Doolittle responded by initiating a breakthrough in fighter tactics by "freeing" the fighters, allowing them to fly far ahead of the heavy bomber formations in an air supremacy "fighter sweep" mode on the outward legs; then following the USAAF heavies' bomb runs, the fighters roamed far from the bomber streams and hunted down German fighters – especially the Sturmböcke , that had limited maneuverability with their heavy underwing conformal gun pod-mount autocannons – before they could ever approach
20475-435: The built-up districts of the city. Little damage was done due to creepback : marker aircraft dropped markers short, and bombers dropped their payload at the first markers seen rather than at the center of the markers. On 25/26 February 1944, Bomber Command sent almost 600 aircraft to the aircraft assembly plant at Augsburg. This time, the markers were dropped accurately, the attack was accurate and destroyed about 60 percent of
20670-522: The capacity of the American automotive industry brought about an effort that produced almost 100,000 aircraft in 1944. The AAF reached its wartime inventory peak of nearly 80,000 aircraft in July 1944, 41% of them first line combat aircraft, before trimming back to 73,000 at the end of the year following a large reduction in the number of trainers needed. The logistical demands of this armada were met by
20865-430: The capitulation of Japan, realignment took place with the complete elimination of OC&R. The now five assistant chiefs of air staff were designated AC/AS-1 through -5 corresponding to Personnel, Intelligence, Operations and Training, Materiel and Supply, and Plans. Most personnel of the Army Air Forces were drawn from the Air Corps. In May 1945, 88 per cent of officers serving in the Army Air Forces were commissioned in
21060-657: The chosen powerplant for B-29 bombers it did not enter service. Post-war, the Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engine fighter aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy, using two Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engines, achieving a top speed of 460 mph (740 km/h). It was among the fastest piston-engine aircraft ever built, and heavily armed with four 20mm M2 cannon and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 heavy machine guns, with hard points for bombs or
21255-518: The commanders of GHQ Air Force and the Air Corps, Major Generals Frank M. Andrews and Oscar Westover respectively, clashed philosophically over the direction in which the air arm was moving, exacerbating the difficulties. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a reorganization study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in
21450-573: The commanding generals of the new Army Ground Forces and Services of Supply , the other two components of the Army of the United States . The War Department issued Circular No. 59 on 2 March that carried out the executive order, intended (as with the creation of the Air Service in World War I) as a wartime expedient to expire six months after the end of the war. The three components replaced
21645-719: The confidence of US strategic bombing crews. Until that time, Allied bombers avoided contact with the Luftwaffe ; now, the Americans used any method that would force the Luftwaffe into combat. Implementing this policy, the United States looked toward Berlin . Raiding the German capital, Allied leaders reasoned, would force the Luftwaffe to battle. On March 4, the USSTAF launched the first of several attacks against Berlin . A force of 730 bombers set off from England with an escort of 800 fighters. Fierce battles raged and resulted in heavy losses for both sides; 69 B-17s were lost but it cost
21840-625: The creation of the Air Service Command on 17 October 1941 to provide service units and maintain 250 depots in the United States; the elevation of the Materiel Division to full command status on 9 March 1942 to develop and procure aircraft, equipment, and parts; and the merger of these commands into the Air Technical Service Command on 31 August 1944. In addition to carrying personnel and cargo,
22035-634: The creation of the Army Air Forces, caused an immediate reassessment of U.S. defense strategy and policy. The need for an offensive strategy to defeat the Axis Powers required further enlargement and modernization of all the military services, including the new AAF. In addition, the invasion produced a new Lend lease partner in Russia, creating even greater demands on an already struggling American aircraft production. An offensive strategy required several types of urgent and sustained effort. In addition to
22230-605: The decision was made by the Air Force to re-designate the Bréguet 690 as the Bréguet 691, and to utilize it as a ground-attack aircraft. The 691's engines proved unreliable in testing, and the decision was made to mount new engines on the design, which was finally designated as the Bréguet 693. Few 693s were completed before the Nazi German invasion , however, enough were completed to see some action. The 693 made its combat debut on 12 May 1940 when twelve 693s were sent to attack
22425-538: The destruction of the factories producing these aircraft.' Planners estimated that the Allies would lose between 7% and 18% of their aircraft every day. In order to achieve the objective, U.S. commander Frederick L. Anderson was prepared to sacrifice three quarters of all planes and crew (meaning 736 bombers, from a total of 981 bombers). The Allies proceeded to gather intelligence on all parts of German industry involved in producing parts, engines, wings and airframes, as well as assembling factories. However, operational success
22620-448: The development and manufacture of aircraft in massive numbers, the Army Air Forces had to establish a global logistics network to supply, maintain, and repair the huge force; recruit and train personnel; and sustain the health, welfare, and morale of its troops. The process was driven by the pace of aircraft production, not the training program, and was ably aided by the direction of Lovett, who for all practical purposes became "Secretary of
22815-469: The direct control of Headquarters Army Air Forces. At the end of 1942 and again in the spring of 1943 the AAF listed nine support commands before it began a process of consolidation that streamlined the number to five at the end of the war. These commands were: "In 1943 the AAF met a new personnel problem, to which it applied an original solution: to interview, rehabilitate, and reassign men returning from overseas. [To do this], an AAF Redistribution Center
23010-620: The directorates, and they became overburdened with detail, all contributing to the diversion of the directorates from their original purpose. The system of directorates in particular handicapped the developing operational training program (see Combat units below), preventing establishment of an OTU command and having a tendency to micromanage because of the lack of centralized control. Four main directorates—Military Requirements, Technical Services, Personnel, and Management Control—were created, each with multiple sub-directorates, and eventually more than thirty offices were authorized to issue orders in
23205-576: The disorderly air raid, which had struck an ally's civilian population hard. Not until mid-May 1944, orders were given to seek out targets of opportunity at least 30 kilometers away from the Netherlands' border. Nazi German propaganda attempted to exploit the tragedy in order to counter pro-Allied sympathies amongst the Dutch civilian population, but these efforts appear to have been ineffective, and perhaps even counterproductive. Brinkhuis (1984) stated that several Allied actions during Operation Argument allowed
23400-447: The dormant struggle for an independent United States Air Force. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a "simpler system" and a unified command. Working with Arnold and Robert A. Lovett , recently appointed to the long-vacant position of Assistant Secretary of War for Air, he reached a consensus that quasi-autonomy for the air forces was preferable to immediate separation. On 20 June 1941, to grant additional autonomy to
23595-695: The effort as impractical in the late 1930s. Twin-engine designs such as the Tupolev ANT-29 or Petlyakov VI-100 were proposed, but never made it past the prototype stage, and the USSR entered World War II without a viable heavy fighter. With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet Air Forces were caught off-guard; with only lighter, single-engined, relatively lightly armed fighters to intercept Luftwaffe bombers, and no dedicated night fighters (a role typically filled by heavy fighters). After
23790-555: The establishment of an Officer Candidate School in Miami Beach, Florida , and the direct commissioning of thousands of professionals. Even so, 193,000 new pilots entered the AAF during World War II, while 124,000 other candidates failed at some point during training or were killed in accidents. The requirements for new pilots resulted in a massive expansion of the Aviation Cadet program, which had so many volunteers that
23985-682: The famous iconic " Why We Fight " series, as an animated map graphic of equal prominence to that of the Army and Navy. The Air Corps at the direction of President Roosevelt began a rapid expansion from the spring of 1939 forward, partly from the Civilian Pilot Training Program created at the end of 1938, with the goal of providing an adequate air force for defense of the Western Hemisphere. An initial "25-group program", announced in April 1939, called for 50,000 men. However, when war broke out in September 1939
24180-444: The field, a small number of He 177 A-3s were also equipped with the 50 mm Rheinmetall BK-5 cannon in the undernose gondola. This unofficial modification was intended for use in flak -suppression attacks. A never-built A-3/R5 variant was also planned to mount a 75 mm Bordkanone BK 7,5 cm cannon. Five A-5 variants were built, armed with up to 33 spin-stabilized 21 cm (8¼ in) calibre rockets obliquely mounted (firing upwards) in
24375-467: The fighter sweeps. Thus, the Allies could not entice the Luftwaffe fighters to engage. Second, during escort missions, Allied fighters remained in close escort formation with bombers. This tactic limited bomber casualties but it also reduced Allied pursuit and destruction of Luftwaffe fighters. Recognizing these problems, Major General Jimmy Doolittle , commander of Eighth Air Force from the end of 1943, ordered bombing missions of key aircraft factories that
24570-587: The flight, and none were used by the Vichy Air Force in North Africa. In November 1942 with the German occupation of Vichy France , the remaining Bréguets were seized. Some had their engines removed for use in German aircraft, while others were passed on to the Italians, who used them as training aircraft. The Messerschmitt Bf 110 was a pre-war German fighter design to meet a RLM specification for
24765-466: The force array. In the first half of 1942 the Army Air Forces expanded rapidly as the necessity of a much larger air force than planned was immediately realized. Authorization for the total number of combat groups required to fight the war nearly doubled in February to 115. In July it jumped to 224, and a month later to 273. When the U.S. entered the war, however, the number of groups actually trained to
24960-613: The forces and find new tactics to fend off German fighters. The raids were extensively studied by both sides. The Germans concluded that their tactic of deploying twin-engine heavy fighter designs, with heavy armament to make them usable as bomber destroyers and serving primarily with the Zerstörergeschwader combat wings, was working well. Over the winter of 1943–44 they continued this program, adding to their heavy fighter ranks and developing heavier armaments for all of their aircraft. Both sides observed that US fighters did
25155-513: The fuselage and a rearward-facing machine gun for defense. Numerous variants and sub-variants of the 63 series would be designed and produced, including day fighter , night fighter, reconnaissance , and light bomber variants. While the 63 series was primarily developed for the French Air Force and French Naval Air Arm , they would serve with numerous other nations, both Axis and Allied powers , via either pre- armistice sales by
25350-463: The fuselage, designed to break up and destroy the combat box defensive formations used by USAAF daylight bombers over Germany. Limited operational test flights were conducted with this variant, but they never made contact with the enemy; with the ever-increasing threat of Allied escort fighters, the variant was abandoned. Towards the end of the war, the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil was developed as
25545-604: The ground forces by March 1942. In the spring of 1941, the success in Europe of air operations conducted under centralized control (as exemplified by the British Royal Air Force and the German Wehrmacht 's military air arm, the Luftwaffe ) made clear that the splintering of authority in the American air forces, characterized as " hydra -headed" by one congressman, had caused a disturbing lack of clear channels of command. Less than five months after
25740-516: The immediate post-war period and served until 1955. When there appeared to be a threat from German high-altitude bombers, the Westland Welkin was developed. This was a twin engine design with wide wings (70 ft (21 m)) to be able to intercept at 45,000 ft (14,000 m). The threat never materialised and Welkins did not see combat service. A contemporary design the six cannon armed Vickers Type 432 , which itself descended from
25935-624: The industrial city. During Big Week, the Eighth Air Force lost 97 B-17s, 40 B-24s and another 20 scrapped due to damage. The operational strength of the Eighth Air Force bomber units had dropped from 75 percent at the start of the week to 54 percent, and its fighter units strength had dropped from 72 percent of establishment strength to 65 percent. The Fifteenth Air Force lost 14.6 percent (90 bombers) of establishment strength, and RAF Bomber Command lost 131 bombers (5.7 percent) during Big Week. Although these numbers are high in absolute terms,
26130-543: The large-scale use of jet aircraft becoming commonplace, the United States Army Air Forces put forward technical specifications to the US aerospace industry, requesting both day and night interceptors . While the night interceptor technical specification did not specifically require jet power, it did place a minimum speed requirement of 503 mph (810 km/h) on the project, effectively necessitating jet power. By 1946, two aircraft were chosen by
26325-494: The late 1930s, Bell Aircraft of the United States designed the YFM-1 Airacuda "bomber destroyer". The design was heavily armed, particularly for a pre-WWII design, mounting two 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 cannons as her primary armament along with two .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns and two .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning heavy machine guns for defense. A very large and unique airframe,
26520-574: The later marks of the Bf 110G series from 1942 to 1943 onwards as night fighters, serving as the primary aircraft of the Luftwaffe Nachtjagdgeschwader night fighter wings, using various versions of the Lichtenstein radar for nocturnal interception of RAF Bomber Command heavy bombers, as well as finding some use as ground-attack aircraft. The Me 210 and Me 410 Hornisse were all-new aircraft designs meant to replace
26715-519: The latter was the Gloster F.9/37 ; later development into a night-fighter was curtailed in 1941 so that Gloster's design team could concentrate on British jet fighter projects . The limitations of pure turret fighters (though the single engine Boulton Paul Defiant was successfully adapted as a nightfighter) and aerodynamics of multiple cannon installations in turrets (such as Boulton Paul P.92 ) curtailed introduction of designs into service. Perhaps in
26910-456: The losses on the part of the US forces. The Second Raid on Schweinfurt on 14 October 1943, remembered as "Black Thursday" while October 1943 as a whole as a "black month"), proved even more bloody; of the 291 aircraft on the mission, 60 were lost, with a further 17 damaged beyond repair. The self-defense concept appeared flawed enough, and losses among the bombers deemed unsustainable: daylight missions into Germany were canceled in order to rebuild
27105-400: The more losses than any other French type. One factor contributing to the high losses was the near-complete lack of spares, rendering 70 63.11s unserviceable even prior to the German invasion; many aircraft were destroyed on the ground by enemy bombing and strafing attacks, and entire units were wiped out without conducting a single mission. In addition to the Potez 63 series, another aircraft
27300-436: The most promising, thanks to its range, high altitude performance, and reliability. Over the winter they re-equipped many of their fighter squadrons as more Mustangs arrived and modifications allowed existing fighters to have a longer range. The Eighth Air Force was increasing in size as more complete bombardment and fighter groups arrived from the US. The Luftwaffe was increasing in size but the quality of training of their pilots
27495-550: The name of the commanding general. Among the headquarters directorates were Technical Services, Air Defense, Base Services, Ground-Air Support, Management Control, Military Equipment, Military Requirements , and Procurement & Distribution. A "strong and growing dissatisfaction" with the organization led to an attempt by Lovett in September 1942 to make the system work by bringing the Directorate of Management Control and several traditional offices that had been moved to
27690-427: The new long-range fighters in the process. The Germans needed no provocation: they were ready to meet a raid with their new forces. However, the increased weight of armaments in their fighters reduced performance, making them easy targets for the new and unexpected Mustangs. The goal of Operation Argument was to destroy aircraft factories in central and southern Germany in order to destroy the German aircraft industry as
27885-402: The new organization. The AAF gained the formal "Air Staff" long opposed by the General Staff, and a single air commander, but still did not have equal status with the Army ground forces, and air units continued to report through two chains of command. The commanding general of AFCC gained control of his stations and court martial authority over his personnel, but under the new field manual FM-5
28080-645: The newly minted Petlyakov Pe-3 took flight. Numerous issues were identified with the Pe-3, primarily stemming from the added gun and cannon armament. Various improvements, workarounds, and modifications were tested to address these issues. The aircraft was placed under further scrutiny when it was issued on a trial-basis to the 95th High-Speed Bomber Regiment within the Moscow Military District in late 1941. The Regiment's experiences revealed further deficiencies not found during initial testing; Firing
28275-571: The number of trained and experienced pilots proved the most decisive factor, though, rather than the availability of fighter aircraft.' As of 22 February 1944 under the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe commanded by Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz , the U.S. Eighth Air Force – Major General James H. Doolittle , and Major General Frederick Lewis Anderson There were 981 bomber aircraft available for Operation Argument in total. The B-24 Liberator usually had
28470-442: The numbers of bombers involved in the missions were much higher than previously, and the losses represented a much smaller percentage of the attacking force. The earlier Schweinfurt missions had cost the force nearly 30 percent of their aircraft per mission. German losses were 262 fighters, 250 aircrew killed or injured, including nearly 100 pilots killed in action . US aircrews claimed more than 500 German fighters destroyed, though
28665-447: The numbers were exaggerated by 40% compared with actual numbers. The Luftwaffe losses were high amongst their twin-engined Zerstörer units, and the Bf 110 and Me 410 groups were severely depleted. More worrying for the Jagdwaffe (fighter force) than the loss of 355 aircraft was the loss of nearly 100 pilots (14 percent) who had been killed. In contrast to the raids of the previous year,
28860-479: The operating staff, including the Air Judge Advocate and Budget Officer, back under the policy staff umbrella. When this adjustment failed to resolve the problems, the system was scrapped and all functions combined into a single restructured air staff. The hierarchical "command" principle, in which a single commander has direct final accountability but delegates authority to staff, was adopted AAF-wide in
29055-894: The operational command was designated by the Roman numeral of its parent numbered air force. For instance, the Eighth Air Force listed the VIII Bomber Command and the VIII Fighter Command as subordinate operational commands. Roman numbered commands within numbered air forces also included "support", "base", and other services commands to support the operational units, such as the VIII Air Force Service and VIII Air Force Composite Commands also part of Eighth Air Force during its history. The Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces did not field subordinate commands during World War II. Fifteenth Air Force organized
29250-502: The pilots are MIA. German losses were 30 Bf 109s and Fw 190s, 24 pilots killed and seven wounded. Mission 229: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 250 bundles of leaflets on Rouen, Caen, Paris and Amiens, France at 2215–2327 hours without loss. Mission 230: "Big Week" continues with 799 aircraft dispatched against German aviation and Luftwaffe airfields; 41 bombers and 11 fighters are lost. These missions are escorted by 67 P-38s, 535 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s, and 57 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s;
29445-416: The production of other aircraft types. Although the Allied goal of achieving air superiority was furthered, the Allied bombing of the German aircraft industry was ineffective. Moreover, the Allied losses were more severe than the German losses. On top of that, the high Dutch civilian death toll was a humanitarian catastrophe. The bombing of Nijmegen on 22 February, which resulted from the aborted attack on
29640-400: The proposal the following month which, in the face of Marshall's dissatisfaction with Army GHQ, the War Plans Division accepted. Just before Pearl Harbor, Marshall recalled an Air Corps officer, Brig. Gen. Joseph T. McNarney , from an observer group in England and appointed him to chair a "War Department Reorganization Committee" within the War Plans Division, using Arnold's and Spaatz's plan as
29835-489: The raids, with increasing success, as evidenced by the example of the two Schweinfurt-Regensburg missions . On 17 August 1943, 230 USAAF bombers launched a mission against the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt and another 146 against the aircraft factories in Regensburg . Of this force, 60 aircraft were lost before returning to base and another 87 had to be scrapped due to irreparable damage. The Germans claimed 27 fighters lost, serious enough, but small in comparison to
30030-442: The rejection of Arnold's reorganization proposal, a joint U.S.-British strategic planning agreement ( ABC-1 ) refuted the General Staff's argument that the Air Corps had no wartime mission except to support ground forces. A struggle with the General Staff over control of air defense of the United States had been won by airmen and vested in four command units called "numbered air forces", but the bureaucratic conflict threatened to renew
30225-420: The rest Medium and Light groups ( B-25 Mitchell , B-26 Marauder , and A-20 Havoc ). The balance of the force included 26 Pursuit groups (renamed fighter group in May 1942), 9 Observation (renamed Reconnaissance ) groups, and 6 Transport (renamed Troop Carrier or Combat Cargo ) groups. After the operational deployment of the B-29 Superfortress bomber, Very Heavy Bombardment units were added to
30420-484: The results were far lower than the expectations. German industrial complexes of multiple major factories (such as in Leipzig , Wiener Neustadt , and Regensburg ) proved difficult to thoroughly destroy, easy to repair, and the logistics of transporting materials between factories were almost impossible to effectively disrupt. Prior to Big Week, throughout 1943, the US 8th Air Force had been growing in size and experience and started pressing attacks deeper into Germany. It
30615-400: The role of the Army Air Forces, Arnold was given a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff , the planning staff that served as the focal point of American strategic planning during the war, in order that the United States would have an air representative in staff talks with their British counterparts on the Combined Chiefs . In effect the head of the AAF gained equality with Marshall. While this step
30810-437: The same requirement. An advanced design crewed by a lone pilot, the P-38 performed best in the Pacific theater where its long-range proved a pivotal advantage. This range allowed a team of sixteen early P-38 models to intercept and kill Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto while he was traveling aboard a transport aircraft. The P-38 proved adaptable enough to undertake multiple roles including escort fighter, reconnaissance (as
31005-400: The same round with minimal change in weight or size) compared to the AN/M2's 750-850 rounds per minute, a roughly 60% increase in rounds per minute. The first XP-82 prototype was equipped with a removable centerline gun pod housing eight additional .50 caliber M3 Brownings, but this did not feature on production aircraft. A separate centerline gun pod containing a 40 mm (1.6 in) cannon
31200-419: The second crew-member. Prior to the Nazi German invasion of the Netherlands , the G.I was actively involved in air-border patrols in order to ensure neutrality and the integrity of Dutch airspace. On 20 March 1940, a G.I forced down an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley from No. 77 Squadron RAF when it strayed into Dutch air space. On 10 May 1940, when Nazi Germany invaded, 23 G.I aircraft were serviceable. In
31395-501: The second of the six primary of objectives, after "German submarine construction yards." The idea was that disrupting the German aircraft production capacity was the best way to reduce German aerial combat potential. On the other hand, according to McFarland & Newton (1991), Big Week was not primarily a bombing campaign, but a campaign designed to kill Luftwaffe fighters. Two tactical factors made this difficult. First, Luftwaffe fighters avoided Allied fighters and would simply ignore
31590-423: The strategic bomber force, the 27th FEW was to fly these missions in F-82Es. During the start of the Korean War , the F-82 replaced the F-61 Black Widow as the USAF's night interceptor in the Far East Air Forces . The Twin Mustang was utilized in the night fighter-interceptor and fighter-bomber role early in the war, and it scored the first US aerial victory, with Lt. William G. "Skeeter" Hudson, USAF, scoring
31785-428: The time that the Eighth Air Force had started introducing the improved long range P-51 Mustang fighter which gave the USAAF bomber forces more cover deeper into Germany, to take over the role. The offensive overlapped the German Operation Steinbock , the Baby Blitz , which lasted from January to May 1944. In the summer of 1943, the Luftwaffe had about 2,200 fighters available on average, and several bombing raids by
31980-424: The total destruction of the German aircraft industry as its goal.' 'The manufacture of these [fighters, such as Messerschmitt 109, 110, and the Focke-Wulf 190], saw such a steep rise that the USAAF and RAF had good reason to fear that the defense of Hitler's Festung Europa with all these aircraft would lead to a horrible massacre amongst Allied flight crews. Therefore, the primary goal of the Allied Airforce became
32175-420: The upper hand. United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF or AAF ) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and de facto aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1947). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and
32370-420: The war, plus a general air force within the continental United States to support the whole and provide air defense. The latter was formally organized as the Continental Air Forces and activated on 15 December 1944, although it did not formally take jurisdiction of its component air forces until the end of the war in Europe. Half of the numbered air forces were created de novo as the service expanded during
32565-608: The war, the G.I survived only to be eventually scrapped after 1945. There are no surviving G.Is today, although a replica has been built, and is now displayed at the Dutch Nationaal Militair Museum (National Military Museum). In 1934, the French Ministry of Air issued a specification for a new two or three-seat multi-role fighter, capable of functioning as a bomber escort and night fighter, as well as providing fighter direction (leading formations of single-engine fighters to their targets). The specification also required, at minimum, two forward-facing 20 mm cannons, as well as
32760-461: The war-time Army Air Forces. The AAF was willing to experiment with its allotment from the unpopular Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs) and became an early and determined supporter of full military status for women in the Army ( Women's Army Corps or WACs). WACs serving in the AAF became such an accepted and valuable part of the service they earned the distinction of being commonly (but unofficially) known as "Air WACs". Nearly 40,000 women served in
32955-511: The war. Some grew out of earlier commands as the service expanded in size and hierarchy (for example, the V Air Support Command became the Ninth Air Force in April 1942), and higher echelons such as United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) in Europe and U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific became necessary to control the whole. Within numbered air forces, operational commands were created to divide administrative control of units by function (eg fighters and bombers). The numbering of
33150-404: The wings of World War II, however, were composed of groups with like functions (denoted as bombardment , fighter , reconnaissance , training , antisubmarine , troop carrier , and replacement ). The six support commands organized between March 1941 and April 1942 to support and supply the numbered air forces remained on the same chain of command echelon as the numbered air forces, under
33345-431: Was a remarkable expansion. Robert A. Lovett, the Assistant Secretary of War for Air, together with Arnold, presided over an increase greater than for either the ground Army or the Navy, while at the same time dispatching combat air forces to the battlefronts. "The Evolution of the Department of the Air Force" – Air Force Historical Studies Office The German invasion of the Soviet Union , occurring only two days after
33540-442: Was a subordinate agency of the United States Department of War (as were the Army Ground Forces and the Army Service Forces) tasked only with organizing, training, and equipping combat units and limited in responsibility to the continental United States. In reality, Headquarters AAF controlled the conduct of all aspects of the air war in every part of the world, determining air policy and issuing orders without transmitting them through
33735-425: Was also supported by RAF Bomber Command operating against the same targets at night. Arthur "Bomber" Harris resisted contributing RAF Bomber Command so as not to dilute the British "area bombing" offensive against Berlin . It took an order from Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal , Chief of the Air Staff , to force Harris to comply. RAF Fighter Command also provided escort for USAAF bomber formations, just at
33930-483: Was also used on official recruiting posters (see image above) and was important in promoting the idea of an "Air Force" as an independent service. Jimmy Stewart , a Hollywood movie star serving as an AAF pilot, used the terms "Air Corps" and "Air Forces" interchangeably in the narration of the 1942 recruiting short " Winning Your Wings " . The term "Air Force" also appeared prominently in Frank Capra 's 1945 War Department indoctrination film " War Comes to America " , of
34125-399: Was ample room to install airborne intercept radar systems as well as heavy armament. Bombers utilized in such a role included the Junkers Ju 88 and Ju 388 ; the Heinkel He 219 ; and the Dornier Do 215 and Do 217 . In addition to light and medium bombers, the Luftwaffe experimented with the concept of a Grosszerstörer ("large destroyer"). Different armament packages were tested on
34320-442: Was charged with protecting American airspace from the growing threat of Soviet strategic bombers . The P-61 would be re-designated as the F-61 in 1948. With F-61s no longer in production post-war, they were usually replaced with the newer F-82 Twin Mustang once they became unserviceable. The F-82 Twin Mustang was America's last heavy fighter design as well as being the last American piston-engined fighter ordered into production by
34515-461: Was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii and the Panama Canal . The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with a subordinate organization of 54 groups. The likelihood of U.S. participation in World War II prompted the most radical reorganization of the aviation branch in its history, developing a structure that both unified command of all air elements and gave it total autonomy and equality with
34710-477: Was considered, but was never built. The outer wings were reinforced to allow the addition of hard points for carrying additional fuel or 1,000 lb (450 kg) of ordnance. The F-82E was the first operational model and its initial operational assignment was to the Strategic Air Command 27th Fighter Wing (later re-designated the 27th Fighter-Escort Wing, or 27th FEW) at Kearney Air Force Base , Nebraska in March 1948. With no long-range jet fighters to escort
34905-413: Was developed from the original 1934 heavy fighter specification. This was the Bréguet 690 , designed and manufactured originally by Bréguet Aviation . While the Bréguet 690 was not selected to serve as France's primary heavy fighter, the French Air Force's command staff was still intrigued by the sturdy and versatile design. By 1938, with France falling behind in ground-attack/close-air support aircraft,
35100-407: Was established on 7 August 1943, and given command status on 1 June 1944. as the AAF Personnel Distribution Command. This organization was ordered discontinued, effective 30 June 1946." The primary combat unit of the Army Air Forces for both administrative and tactical purposes was the group , an organization of three or four flying squadrons and attached or organic ground support elements, which
35295-408: Was foreseen to heavily depend on several consecutive days of good weather, meaning ideal cloud covers between about 600 and 4,000 meters above England, but no clouds above the target areas in Germany. As such a situation was extremely rare, leadership decided to launch the campaign anyway as soon as the forecast showed the smallest signs of acceptable flying weather. Similarly, Van Esch (2012) analyzed
35490-442: Was less than that of the new American units. By early 1944, both forces had laid their plans and were waiting to put them into action. The US, confident in a fighter advantage, planned missions that would demand a German response. They decided to make massive raids on the German fighter factories. If the Germans chose not to respond, they would be at risk of losing the air war without firing a shot; if they did respond, they would meet
35685-434: Was never officially recognized by the United States Navy , and was bitterly disputed behind the scenes at every opportunity, it nevertheless succeeded as a pragmatic foundation for the future separation of the Air Force. Under the revision of AR 95–5, the Army Air Forces consisted of three major components: Headquarters AAF, Air Force Combat Command, and the Air Corps. Yet the reforms were incomplete, subject to reversal with
35880-412: Was occasionally mounted in the tail. Most of the problems found during trials and operational field-testing would be rectified by the Petlyakov Design Bureau with the introduction of the Pe-3bis (Pe-3 'Improved'). Pe-3bis production began in April 1942, although 207 standard Pe-3s were produced in the intervening months. However, additional issues were again discovered with the Pe-3bis, and in May 1942
36075-409: Was officially accepted into USAAF service in August 1945. The design carried six .50 in (12.7 mm) heavy machine guns (HMGs) on the ‘center’ wing, between each fuselage, with three on each outboard wing as on the original Mustang design. The HMGs were also AN/M3s instead of the original Mustang's AN/M2 HMGs. The AN/M3 increased the rate of fire to around 1,200-1,300 rounds per minute (firing
36270-399: Was one of the most heavily armed aircraft in American service during the WWII-period. The P-61 was unofficially credited with the last Allied air victory before VJ Day . The P-61 was also modified to create the unarmed F-15 Reporter , a specialized photo-reconnaissance aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces and subsequently used by the United States Air Force . The F-15 Reporter
36465-481: Was originally believed that the defensive firepower of the ten or more .50 caliber machine guns on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers would allow them to defend themselves as long as they remained arranged into tight formations , allowing for overlapping fire. Throughout 1942 the concept seemed solid enough, as the loss rate had been under 2%. However, the Luftwaffe reacted by sending more planes armed with heavier weaponry to oppose
36660-400: Was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By " V-E Day ", the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas and operated from more than 1,600 airfields worldwide. The Army Air Forces was created in June 1941 to provide the air arm greater autonomy in which to expand more efficiently, to provide
36855-464: Was small in comparison to European air forces. Lines of authority were difficult, at best, since GHQ Air Force controlled only operations of its combat units while the Air Corps was still responsible for doctrine, acquisition of aircraft, and training. Corps area commanders continued to exercise control over airfields and administration of personnel, and in the overseas departments, operational control of units as well. Between March 1935 and September 1938,
37050-462: Was the Northrop P-61 Black Widow , which was also the United States’ first dedicated night fighter, in addition to being the first aircraft designed to utilize radar . Armed with four forward-firing 20 mm (.79 in) AN/M2 cannons mounted in the lower fuselage and four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 machine guns mounted in a remote-controlled dorsal gun turret (capable of firing forwards as well as rearwards for defense), it
37245-454: Was the Bf 110, which served as a relatively successful night fighter, ground attacker , and fighter-bomber for most of the war; and the Bristol Beaufighter , which emerged as a major anti-shipping strike fighter of the Royal Air Force . Some heavy fighters did find success; the de Havilland Mosquito , simultaneously developed as a light bomber , twin-engine fighter and photo-reconnaissance aircraft, excelled in its originally proposed role as
37440-427: Was the last piston-powered photo-reconnaissance aircraft designed and produced for the United States Air Force. The Reporter was also responsible for producing most of the aerial reconnaissance photographs of North Korea during the Korean War . The P-61 — redesignated as the F-61 in June 1948 — would also serve as a night/all-weather interceptor with the USAF's Air Defense Command (ADC) until 1951. In 1945, with
37635-404: Was the rough equivalent of a regiment of the Army Ground Forces . The Army Air Forces fielded a total of 318 combat groups at some point during World War II, with an operational force of 243 combat groups in 1945. The Air Service and its successor the Air Corps had established 15 permanent combat groups between 1919 and 1937. With the buildup of the combat force beginning 1 February 1940,
37830-417: Was threatened. Heavy fighter The heavy fighter was a major design class during the pre- World War II period, conceived as long-range escort fighters or heavily-armed bomber destroyers . Most such designs failed in this mission, as they could not maneuver quickly enough against single-engine fighters. Most notable among such designs was the Messerschmitt Bf 110 , which suffered great losses during
38025-485: Was very effective. Freed of close bomber escort duty, Allied fighters, particularly the P-51s, inflicted severe losses on the Luftwaffe. German aircraft and pilot losses could not be sufficiently replaced. As a result, the Allies achieved air superiority by the time of the D-Day invasion. The damage to the German aircraft industry was fairly limited. During 1944, German fighter aircraft production continued to increase, and actually peaked, by dispersing production and reducing
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